John Griffin

John “Rusty” Edward Griffin, went home to be with the Lord Friday, April 12, 2013 surrounded by his family in his Seminole home. Born Dec. 21, 1946, John lived 66 wonderful years. A memorial service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday April 18, at the First Baptist Church of Seminole with Pastor Marvin Kehl officiating. His cremains will be on view Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Swearingen Funeral Home. Though John lived many places during his early adult life, he was always a Seminole resident at heart. His first marriage, of 21 years, to Linda (Pippin) Puckett, brought three children, Sheri, Leslie and Josh into the world. On Feb. 18, 1990, he married Susie (Kovach) Griffin. They enjoyed 23 years of marriage, the last seven with their beloved dog, Missy. John attended Seminole Public Schools and played the tuba in Seminole High School’s marching band. John served 23 years in the US Navy as a flight engineer and production supervisor and he retired as a senior chief petty officer. After retirement, he discovered his passion, picture framing. Once Susie retired from the Navy, they moved to Seminole to open Griffin’s Custom Framing. In his youth, John learned to play guitar and enjoyed singing Elvis and Beatles songs. He was an avid runner and completed many 10k races. In his later years, he loved photography and won numerous awards for it. Few things gave John greater joy than giving back to the town he loved. He served on the board of the Seminole Oil Museum and the Arts Council; founded the Downtown Beautification Committee and donated to the First Baptist Church, Seminole Public Schools, and often donated art to local fundraisers. John always had a smile to share and did his best to bring as much laughter into the world as he could. John was preceded in death by his father, JD Griffin. John is survived by his wife of the home, Susie and their dog, Missy; his mother, Christine Griffin of Seminole; three children and one son-in-law, Sheri Griffin, Leslie and Jeroid Berry  all of Seminole, and Josh Griffin of Norman; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Mike and Trisha Griffin of Wolf, and Jeff and Jana Griffin of Seminole. John is also survived by four grandchildren, Ashley Miller, Bailey Purganan, Charles Hull and David Noland; and five great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to World Vision or MDA, two of John’s favorite charities. Funeral Information: April 18, 2013, 10:30 AM First Baptist Church - Seminole located at 420 Reid Street, Seminole, OK 74868